24 Days: The Second Mitakihara Case
by Azure of the Auspicious Rain
Summary: SEQUEL TO AS TIME DIVERGES: THE MITAKIHARA CASE. It has been a year since L's plan had come to pass. Living a double life as a teacher and detective, L once again gets caught in the sinister secrets of the world of Mahou Shoujo.
1. Another Case

Author's note: The last story was kind of like "L in Madoka universe". This sequel will be more like "Madoka in Death Note universe"... except death notes would not exist... argh... based off of the spinoff movie "L: Change the World"... except it won't be bio-terrorism this time.

So, if you don't think you'll like it... abandon ship.

Oh yes... READ "As Time Diverges: The Mitakihara Case" BEFORE READING THIS ONE! I MEAN IT!

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25 Days Left

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"Help me!"

Terrified screams were heard all around the small village. One such villager ran, terrified, as he was chased by a ghostly cloaked creature with a head that looked like pixels. He rounded a corner, only to find another monster in front of him. He was surrounded.

The demons closed in. A scream was heard.

Far away, on the other side of the village, a small boy sat near a rock. In front of him was a rock with several complex mathematical equations.

A demon approached him.

The boy turned away from his drawing of the Fibonacci sequence to look at it. He was scared, but he didn't show it that much. He did, however, give a startled cry when the demon reached for him.

A purple light glistened, piercing the demon, who disappeared with a startled cry.

"A survivor?" the saviour said curiously. "I thought I was too late."

The boy turned at the person who saved him. It was a girl with long black hair with a red ribbon. She wore strange clothing and had a shield on her arm.

"Come on." she grabbed the boy. "We need to get out of here."

XXXXX

"Everything is going perfectly, sir. The Grief cubes we have planted have attracted just the right number of demons we need. We are now proceeding into-"

"Sir!" A man yelled as he watched a screen, "We have an unknown mahou shoujo leaving the area. She has a boy from the village with her!"

A finely dressed man glared at his underling. "We don't need any witnesses. Eliminate her."

XXXXX

Homura held the boy by the hand as they ran through the woods. They were near the road to a city when she felt something. Dodging to the side, she felt an attack just narrowly miss her head and hit the tree in front of her. Turning, she saw another mahou shoujo.

_It couldn't be._

She had appeared occasionally before, her appearance being one of the few details that changed occasionally during her infinite time loops. The Mahou Shoujo Homura knew as Kirika Kure appeared, flanked by a dozen other mahou shoujo that all seemed to have some sort of black visor. It struck Homura on how she couldn't see their eyes. .

"Give up." she said. "We have you surrounded. We want the boy. Leave him and we'll spare you."

If it was any other time, Homura would have just left the boy to die. However, she was different now. She resolved to protect. Especially, she knew that Madoka would protect that boy to the best of her ability in this situation. So Homura made her decision.

"And if I say no?"

"We will kill you."

"Try it."

The group of Mahou Shoujo prepared to attack, but Homura got the first move. Something fell form her shield.

Kirika realized what it was. "Stand back!"

Homura bit off the pin on the top of the flash-bang grenade. As the grenade went off, Homura took the boy and ran, knocking the visor off of one of the Puella Magi while she was getting away.

When Kirika was able to see again, Homura and the boy were gone.

_Oriko,_ she spoke telepathically to someone, _I'm sorry._ _She escaped._

XXXXX

"She got away!" The finely dressed man yelled. "How can one Mahou Shoujo escape from over a dozen-"

"Calm down, Matoba-san. She's a special one." a female voice said.

"You know her?"

"Not personally, but I have heard of her." the girl known as Oriko replied. "The mysterious Mahou Shoujo Akemi Homura... But no need to worry. She won't be able to do much, even with the boy."

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NaXlyd Presents:

24 Days- The Second Mitakihara Case

Chapter 1: Days 24 - 19

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24 Days Left

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"Alright, that concludes our class today." L said to the class as they got up to leave. "Please don't forget to do the homework tonight." He went back to his teacher's desk, surrounded by chatter on what the students planned to do.

It was technically a year since the Mitakihara case. If one wanted to be picky, then he could say it had been a year since L had regained his memories regarding magic and everything he had done in Mitakihara, everything he had done to steer fate towards the world in which Witches did not exist. Feeling something was missing from his life, he decided to get out of his investigation room and become a real teacher, such as he had done as a cover. Eccentric teacher by day, international detective by night. It worked well with him. He was also preparing to apply for a position in Mitakihara High School. At least this time, he was a fully certified teacher and was the homeroom teacher of 3-A, the one Homura was in. However, he noted that she was absent for the past few days.

She said something about Thailand. He didn't mind.

He looked at the calender. It was April 7.

24 Days until the anniversary of Madoka's ascension.

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That evening, L sat in his apartment, doing a mountain of marking. Apparently, the other teachers were scared of how efficient he was at marking. So scared that they simply handed their own tests to him, which he didn't mind.

It did get boring though. After an hour of marking two classes worth of math tests, he pressed a button on his desk. Instantly, monitors sprang up, keyboards appeared and L got down to doing what he did best: Crime solving. He was going through various cases when he came across a peculiar file. One from Mitakihara Local Police.

Tomoe Mami had been declared missing three hours ago.

Picking up the phone, he dialled a number.

The person on the other end picked up. "Akemi speaking."

"Akemi-san, this is L."

"...Ryuzaki-sensei, what is it?"

"When is the last time you have seen Tomoe Mami?" L asked, ignoring the jibe Homura slipped in.

"A few days ago, right before I left for Thailand." She replied. "Why?"

"Did her soul gem show any signs of being close to depleting?"

"No. She looked like she would last for a while longer."

"Well, this is strange. She had been declared missing three hours ago. Her teacher at Mitakihara High noticed her absence and informed the police."

Homura was silent for a moment. "I see. I'll be back there as soon as I can. Things are getting strange over at my side too."

"What happened?"

"I witnessed a demon attack on a village in Thailand, but that was not the point. The main problem is that it was a planned coordinated attack."

"You mean to say someone deliberately set demons on that village? An Incubator?" L asked.

"No. It felt to me like... it was a human coordinated attack."

"Is that even possible?" L asked.

"I don't know. I have a survivor with me."

"I see.." L nodded. "please come back to Mitakihara as soon as you can."

Without replying, Homura hung up. With that, L got back to work, looking at a mountainous stack of cases, most if not all containing some form of government corruption, assassination and international criminal organization.

Just another night at the office.

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"Ne, are you sure we're in the right place?"

"For the last time, Kazumi, yes."

Seven girls trekked through the forests of Thailand. With them, trotting on short legs, was a cat-like creature. "It's close."

"Are you sure, Jubey? This area looks deserte-"

They stopped. They got their first view of what once used to be a village. Except now it was a smouldering ruin littered with dead bodies.

"A demon attack. There is no doubt." The leader of the group, a girl by the name of Saki Asami commented.

"This is horrible..." another one, Kaoru Maki, commented.

"Saki," one of the other members said, "Look here."

The leader walked towards the dead body of a girl who had something in her hands. "She was holding something." prying back the fingers, she received a shock. She then quickly hid it. "That's the remains of a soul gem." she muttered.

"Does this mean that the demons killed her?"

"Probably not, Mirai." Saki replied. "...this was a Puella Magi's attack. There's no doubt."

"Guys! I found something!" Kazumi yelled. She held up what seemed to be a visor.

"Out of place. It may have something to do with it." one of the members, Misaki, commented as she and Saki examined the object together. Flipping it over, she found words. "Blue Ship." She read out loud.

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23 Days Left

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"Ooh..." a little girl who couldn't have been older than ten sat up in a place she had never seen before. "Where... am I?"

Yuma Chitose looked around. It seemed to be some sort of hotel room. The last thing she remembered was that she was fighting a Demon. It was about to finish her off, but she didn't remember what happened next.

"I'm glad to see you're awake." a gentle voice said suddenly next to her.

Startled, she turned.

"I'm sorry I surprised you." The owner of the voice apologized. The first possibility that ran through Chitose's mind was that the girl was some sort of princess. She had flowing white hair, was dressed in fancy clothes and had an air of elegance around her. "My name is Mikuni Oriko. You can call me Oriko." she smiled.

"U-um... Thank you. M-my name is Yuma Chitose." the girl muttered shyly. She was afraid that she might insult the princess.

Oriko chuckled. "Please, don't worry. You are safe here."

"Um, Where is this place?" Chitose asked.

"You are at the headquarters of Blue Ship." Oriko answered.

"Blue... Ship?"

"Yes. Blue ship is a government organization that works to help Puella Magi like us."

"You- you're a mahou shoujo too!" Chitose asked, excited to finally meet another one.

"Yes. I work with Blue Ship to protect girls like you." Oriko gave her a gentle pat on the head. "While you are here, please don't wander around without permission. You've been hurt in that battle with the demon and we want you to recover. Enjoy your stay." she smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Chitose alone.

"Well?" The man known as Matoba demanded from her the moment the door was closed.

"Her soul gem is fine. There is no damage. We can use her." She replied.

XXXXX

L sat in his chair. It was evening now. He had just solved another large pile of cases, but the thing he had been waiting for had not yet arrived.

There was a knock on the door.

L looked up. She was here. Opening the door, L was silently relieved to see Homura alive and well.

"Who is this?" he asked, referring to the young boy who was tightly clutching her arm.

"The survivor." Homura answered as she strode in. "L, we might have a problem."

L sat down in his usual peculiar position and stared at the boy. "Go on."

Her description of what had happened in Thailand was worrisome, to say the least. First the Demons had made a planned attack on a village, and now Mahou Shoujo were trying to kill the witnesses. It seemed like something more than an isolated incident had occurred.

L mused. Could the disappearance of Tomoe Mami have anything to do with it?

Homura got up to leave. "I will leave the boy in your care, L."

L looked up. "What?"

"I don't have the resources to look after a boy like him. Keep him here."

"You realize I need to teach-"

Homura wasn't listening. She walked out, closing the door behind her.

L thought for a moment, then reached for the phone. Calling a number, he spoke.

"Watari, I need your help."

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20 Days Left

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Yuma was bored. She had been stuck for three days in the room. Sure, there were toys, books and a TV, but she wanted to go outside.

She then thought about it. She knew that Oriko would get mad at her, but it was her fault for keeping her here. Slowly getting off the bed, she opened the door. Taking a peek, she saw that there was no one there. Just rows and rows of doors.

Tiptoeing past the doors, she continued until she heard a _Thump_ from behind one of the doors. Scared, she looked at the door.

"Is someone there?" The voice behind the door asked. Yuma nearly stopped breathing out of nervousness, but then opened the door anyways.

"Hello?" she called out timidly. "Is someone there?"

"Oh! Come in." To Yuma's surprise, it was another young girl. She couldn't possibly be any older than herself. She stepped into the room and closed the door.

She was right. The girl was no older than her, maybe even a little younger. She had pink hair and brown clothing. She had a little stuffed doll, which she was hugging while she lay on her bed.

"I'm Alice." She said with a cheerful smile, and Chitose suddenly realized that she had probably been here much longer than three days.

"I-I'm Yuma. Chitose Yuma." She said. She had been lonely for a large portion of her life and found it hard to make friends.

"Do you like sweets, Yuma-chan? I can call you Yuma-chan, right?" Alice smiled.

"Of course! And I love sweets! Especially candy!"

"Me too, although what I really like is... cheese." she admitted.

"Cheese? Really?"

"Yes!" Alice insisted. "Cheese is just so soft and fluffy, and it almost melts in your mouth..."

Yuma giggled. It looked like this place would get a lot better.

XXXXX

"What do you think?" Matoba asked Oriko, who was looking at notes Blue Ship had compiled on Alice.

"I think that she is ready. Besides, she knows too much. You may not have noticed, but she had overheard our conversation a few days back."

"Why didn't you tell me!" Matoba demanded. Upon hearing silence, he threw his hands up in frustration. "Do the experiments on this Alice girl."

XXXXX

L got home from Mitakihara middle. When he opened the door, the first thing he heard was a crash, followed by Watari's voice of "No, you shouldn't do that."

L walked in. His first reaction was relief that the boy had not destroyed half his files. He had only destroyed a quarter.

Taking out a lollipop, he knelt in front of the boy, offering it silently to him. The boy only stared back at him.

"This is a very interesting experience," L muttered, "But it may be a weakness. Perhaps I should take a few days off of teaching."

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19 Days Left

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"Alice, what do you want to play next?"

"I don't know... oh, I know!" Alice pulled out a math book.  
>"A math book!" Chitose exclaimed. "But math is boring!"<p>

"Come on, Yuma," Alice said, "We need to keep up with school, even if we're mahou shoujo." she then thought for a moment. "I know!" She pulled out a question. "Try this one!"

She looked at the question. It was a rectangle, with a length of 24 cm and a width of 13. There was a line from one corner to one of the lengths, apparently at an angle of 40 degrees. Rounding to the nearest whole numbers, she had to find the ratio of the short section of the length to the long section of the length.

"I don't know any of this..." she muttered.

"Ahaha, don't worry... I don't either."

Just then, there was a knock by the door. Alice looked up. "Hide under the bed!" She whispered.

The door opened, revealing two unknown Mahou Shoujo, along with a tall man dressed in a fancy suit. For some reason, Chitose did not like him.

"Alice," the man tried to sound nice but Chitose noticed a hidden malice to his voice, "We need to do a medical examination on you."

"Why?" Alice asked.

"Lately, there's been a strange bug going around the building." The man replied. "Come on, let's go..."

The math question still in her pocket, Yuma waited for them to leave, then followed them downstairs.

They had taken Alice to a laboratory. To Yuma, this did not look like a place where gentle doctors would be. Hiding around the corner, she watched as Alice was put in a glassed room. Several strange objects then appeared.

Yuma's eyes went wide.

Those were grief cubes.

"Begin." The man said coldly.

"Right away, Matoba-san." a man at a console acknowledged the order before activating the process. Instantly, the grief seeds surrounded Alice. More specifically, her soul gem. Alice fell off the chair and began grasping and writhing in pain, all while Matoba and Oriko, who had appeared by his side, watched coldly.

"Foolish girl." Matoba sneered as Alice began shrieking. "Did you think we did not notice you listening in on our plans?"

There was one last shriek from Alice, then there was an explosion. And then a pink light.

"No!" Oriko yelled as she saw the pink light. "The grief cubes! Use the grief cubes!"

Suddenly, the ten grief cubes that had been lined around Alice's soul gem began to cackle, releasing dark energy. The dark energy countered the pink energy, stopping it from reaching the soul gem.

There was another explosion. Yuma nearly screamed.

Alice was dead, her cold body laying on the floor of the lab. Inside the room, through the glass, only a weird object that looked like a black soul gem was on the wall, rooted to it and glowing.

"Matoba-san, the energy levels were tremendous. Exponentially higher than anything we have seen from a grief cube."

Matoba smirked. He had found it. A method of extracting high levels of energy. "Oriko, we have done it. A grief seed."

"Yes. Soon the goddess's protection will be no more. And then the universe will be saved.

Suddenly, there was a yell. "Someone escaped!"

"What!" Oriko turned suddenly.

"One of those mahou shoujo, the Chitose girl, she ran away!"

"Yuma..." Oriko growled. She turned towards the shadows. Out of those shadows, three mahou shoujo, all with visors, appeared.

"Get out there." she growled. "Chase down and kill the Chitose girl. She saw everything."

XXXXX

Chitose panted as she ran away from the building. She didn't care that she was lost. She didn't care that she was in the middle of a maze of buildings. She didn't care that she had no plan. The only thoughts in her right now were that the people from "Blue Ship" had killed her friend, turned her soul gem black somehow, and that they would probably do the same to her.

Suddenly, she felt something behind her and ducked, only to have a blast of magical energy fly right above her head. Startled, she turned behind her.

Three mahou shoujo were there. They were wearing visors. Just like the ones at Blue Ship.

_They found me!_

One of them was about to prepare another attack. Yuma only cringed, expecting the worst.

The blast fired, and then was deflected with the sound of a weapon cutting through energy.

Yuma opened her eyes.

"Geez," Her saviour sighed, "I took over this town temporarily while Mami's gone missing, and I see three random Puella Magi bully a little girl?"

Yuma was in awe. The Puella Magi that had saved her was definitely older than her. She had red hair tied into a ponytail, had a red outfit and a very dangerous looking spear. It looked a lot more sturdier than her own Puella Magi weapon.

The three Mahou Shoujo shifted back, looking ready to fight.

The girl could only laugh. "Really? You think that newbies like you can take me on?" With a simple twirl of her spear, she extended it, turning it into a giant chain which blasted the three mahou shoujo against the sides of a building, knocking them unconscious.

"Losers." The girl muttered, then turned towards Yuma. "You alright?"

"Um... yes... uh, tha-thank you."

"No problem." She then noticed the soul gem Yuma had. "You- you're a mahou shoujo too!"

"Y-yes..."

"Why didn't you fight back!"

"I-I'm not good at fighting..."

The girl sighed. "Well, this is troublesome... From what those Pleidas Saint girls were talking about, those three losers over there look like they're from Blue Ship or whatever they were called-"

"Blue ship!" Yuma exclaimed. "They... they killed my friend!"

the girl stared at her. "Killed?"

"They... they did something to Alice, and her soul gem went all black..."

Kyouko gave it thought."Well, if they're after you, then it might be a good idea not to be out in the open." The girl undid her transformation and offered her a pocky stick. "The name's Kyouko. Sakura Kyouko."

"Um... I'm Yuma." She muttered shyly, taking a pocky stick.

"Come on, we should get out of here." Kyouko took Yuma by the hand and led her through the streets. "The safest place would be... Ryuzaki-sensei's place, I guess."

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END OF PART 1

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Author's note: For the first time in the history of me writing fanfic, I have introduced an OC. Alice is my interpretation of what Charlotte might have been as a mahou shoujo. I would have included the cancer theory if I could, but I couldn't.

Oh, and by now, Sayaka would have disappeared already, so she won't be in this fic. Madoka WILL make an appearance. If you really want it, I can give Sayaka a brief appearance too.

Please Review.

P.S. Yes, those were the Pleidas Saints trekking through Thailand.

P.S.S... I hope you all understand the significance of what Oriko did to Alice. Especially considering what this timeline was supposed to be.


	2. An Ice Cream Truck

Author's Note: I am SO sorry that I have not updated in months. It's just all school getting me lately. Hopefully, I'll fare better now.

P.S. I am also considering writing a oneshot in which L investigates the death of Kyouko's family... you'll see what I mean when I do.

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18 Days Left

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There was a knock on L's door in the early morning. Watari had returned to Britain to process adoption papers for the boy. Looking up from the laptop, the blue haired detective looked at the screen.

It was Homura.

Opening the door, the raven haired mahou shoujo strode in. "How is he?" she asked.

"He is doing fine. He's scared, but no physical harm had happened. The two of them looked at him, who was now drawing the Fibonacci sequence on a piece of paper.

"What is he doing?" Homura asked.

"He's doing the Fibonacci sequence." L answered. "He's a mathematical prodigy." Homura did not bother to respond.

Just then, there was another knock, this one more violent. "Oi! Ryuzaki-sensei! Open up!"

L didn't even have to look at the screen to know that it was Sakura Kyouko. Wondering why she was here, he opened the door. "Good morning, Sakura-san."

"Yo, Sensei." she replied in her usual manner. "...I need to talk to you."

"Have you noticed strange occurrences too?"

Kyouko nodded. "A few days ago, a group of seven girls asked me something about an organization called "Blue Ship".

"Blue... Ship..." L muttered. He had heard that name before, but he couldn't exactly remember where.

"They said something about Thailand, and then-"

"Tell me more." Homura interrupted, appearing. Kyouko looked at L, silently demanding an explanation for why Homura was there.

"She was in Thailand a few days back. I think it's best if we-" It was then that he noticed an intrusive sound.

_Sobbing._

He looked at Kyouko, then looked around. It was then that he noticed the little green haired girl by Kyouko's side.

"This is Yuma Chitose." Kyouko told L. "She was being chased by three Mahou Shoujo."

L nodded. "Please come in. I have a feeling that we should all tell each other what happened. They may be connected."

As the two older Mahou Shoujo sat around a table with L, Chitose sat on the floor, crying. The boy from Thailand was looking at her, tears also falling from his eyes. L knew that both of them had just gone through a very difficult time.

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Meanwhile

"They got away!" Matoba roared at the subordinate who had been given the unfortunate task of informing his boss that Yuma Chitose had escaped with the help of a red themed Mahou Shoujo.

"Ye-ye-yes sir... she was saved by another mahou shoujo... a red themed one..."

"YOU IMBECILE!" Matoba yelled and the subordinate ran out of the room in fear. He huffed and looked around him. "Well!" He snapped at Oriko.

"No need to worry." Oriko assured the man. "We are on their trail." just then, she got a call.

"Oriko," Kirika Kure reported to her through the cellphone, "We have them. An apartment building on the other side of the city."

Oriko nodded and turned to Matoba. "See? What have I told you?"

XXXXX

"L, who is he?" Kyouko asked, referring to the boy.

"He is a survivor from Thailand. His village was attacked by demons."

"What?" Kyouko was startled. "How did he-"

"Akemi-san rescued him." L cut her off. "Now, the problem is, what to do next."

"What do you mean?"

"I hear that three visor-wearing Mahou Shoujo tried to chase down Chitose-san after she escaped from Blue Ship. I also hear that Homura was attacked by visor wearing Mahou Shoujo in Thailand."

"What!" Kyouko looked at Homura, who merely nodded.

"Now, based on this information, it can be assumed that Blue Ship was responsible for the massacre in Thailand." L deduced. "The only problem is-"

Homura perked up. "I'm detecting something. A strange source of Magic. More than one." She looked up at L. "About a dozen Mahou Shoujo are coming this way-" She looked at L. "What are you doing?"

"As I was saying, the only problem is that they will come after us now." L muttered as he shook a thermos of coffee. It should be noted that that one thermos of coffee had thirty sugar cubes in it. "I assumed they would come after us. You Mahou Shoujo seem to have an unfortunate knack for leaving behind, ah, what was it called?" He muttered as the sound of three vans screeching to a halt was heard outside, "Oh yes. Magical Residue."

Chitose looked at the screen of the people coming in and recognized two of them. "That's her... That's Oriko... she was the one who ordered them to kill Alice! And that's the man with her!"

Homura and Kyouko stood up, soul gems in hand. "What do you plan to do?" L asked

"We'll buy some time. You take those two and escape."

L remained silent. The man in the screen stirred a memory.

"On second thought, I think that I would like a chat with him."

As Oriko, Matoba and the dozen Mahou Shoujo marched through the halls of the building, the kept an eye out. Surely, Yuma Chitose must be here somewhere. Before they managed to get too far, however, they found their path suddenly blocked by two Mahou Shoujo.

"Where could you be possibly be going with almost an army of Mahou Shoujo?" Kyouko asked conversationally.

Oriko replied calmly. "You two are not the people we are looking for." she said, not surprised by the fact those two knew what magical girls were. "If you stand aside now, we won't kill you."

"You seem pretty complacent," Homura countered in her usual monotone, "Considering you already tried to do that to me."

Oriko gave Homura a look. "I remember you. Akemi Homura. The girl that saved that boy in Thailand. To think we would encounter you here, it makes things much more easier for us. Kirika." She ordered one of the Mahou Shoujo. From the dozen, Kirika Kure stepped forward, the rest of them forming a semi circle around her, preparing to attack.

Taking this as a sign that a fight was about to ensue, Kyouko and Homura both transformed. The air was tense as the mahou shoujo prepared for a stand off, while Matoba was smug that two couldn't possible do much against the platoon he had brought.

The fight was about to begin when a male voice interrupted.

"Matoba Daisuke." L's voice resounded through the halls.

Matoba froze. "Who is that?" he hissed.

"I had been wondering where you are since you escaped arrest five years ago." L spoke from through the speakers. "But I did not expect you to encounter Mahou Shoujo."

"Matoba, who is that?" Oriko demanded.

"That... is L..." he hissed. "An international detective... I did not expect him to be in this whole affair..."

"Is he that worthy of an adversary?"

"Do not worry, Oriko." Matoba sneered and grinned. "There are some things that he is weak to. Things that cannot be solved here." he said as he tapped his head.

Suddenly, Homura made her move. Using her shield, she dropped another flash grenade.

"DUCK!" Matoba yelled.

There was a flash of light, and the two girls were gone.

"Certainly, that is my weakness," L's voice continued as if taunting them, "But that may not apply to everyone."

XXXXX

"Get them!" Matoba's yell could be heard throughout the building as L, dragging Yuma and the Boy, ran with Homura and Kyouko.

"Oi, L!" Kyouko yelled as he took a turn for the basement, "The Exit's that way!"

"No," L corrected her, "We have a mobile command centre here." He corrected her as he entered the building parking lot. In front of them lay a large ice cream truck with various types of frozen delights displayed with their prices.

"What the heck?" Kyouko stared at the vehicle as everyone piled in. "An Ice-Cream truck!" she shook her head as she climbed aboard and closed the door. L pressed a few buttons. "Autopilot on." a voice said.

"Where are we going?" Homura asked.

"Anywhere but here." L answered as the truck sped off, the steering wheel turning on it's own. Looking at the mirror, L was unsurprised. "They're after us."

One of the Mahou Shoujo summoned a large rifle, which could be seen from the mirror. Suddenly realizing what it was, Homura and Kyouko was shocked while L dove to turn the steering wheel sharply.

The pursuing Mahou Shoujo fired a large blast of energy from an intricate giant rifle. The blast missed the truck by mere centimetres. L, Homura and Kyouko recognized the attack immediately.

"That attack just now..." Homura gasped.

"There is no mistake." L mused. "That was Tiro Finale. Tomoe Mami is one of them."

"But... why!" Kyouko insisted.

"I do not think that she would join them willingly. My deduction is that she is either being controlled, or something is being held hostage. Also, Tiro Finale uses magic at a dangerously high rate. It's not something she would pull out often willingly."

One of the other Mahou Shoujo then appeared right in front of the truck, her weapon ready to fire. L nearly cursed, turning the steering wheel but knowing it wouldn't be fast enough-

_Episodio Incrocio!_

A group of six girls suddenly appeared out of nowhere and cast what appeared to be a binding spell on the attacker. A seventh one, a mahou shoujo who sported a witch's hat raised a cross-like staff and fired a beam, knocking the girl away.

"It appears we have helpers." L muttered.

"Those are the Pleidas Saints." Kyouko told him. "I wonder what they're doing here... normally they stay in Asurano City."

The newcomers were definitely confused by the sight of an Ice cream truck. "Why on earth is Blue Ship attacking an Ice Cream truck?" one of them, a Mahou Shoujo in an almost military-like costume asked in confusion.

"Maybe they were hungry, Saki, and they didn't have the money to pay!"

"Kazumi, that's not thinking straight."

Upon the appearance of the new group of Puella Magi, the remaining Mahou Shoujo from Blue Ship turned tail and ran, Mami included. L decided it was too bad he couldn't stop her.

XXXXX

A few minutes later, he pulled the Ice Cream truck to a stop near a park so that he could talk with the "Pleidas Saints". He left Kyouko to take care of the truck.

Knowing her, by the time he got back half the Ice cream would be gone.

"So, you know everything about us?" The leader of the Pleidas Saints, Saki, asked.

"Yes. Mahou Shoujo. Demons. Soul gems. The gist of it." L replied. "I would like to know how you fit into this whole thing."

"We are mahou shoujo from Asurano City." Saki, the apparent leader of the group, replied. "We noticed strange activity regarding demons, and we went to Thailand to investigate, only to find-"

"An annihilated village." L finished for them. Ignoring their surprise, he continued. "I know everything. Blue ship has been doing some rather disturbing things. They have been trying to manipulate magic."

"Why would they want to do that?"

"...Matoba Daisuke." L mused. "He is a criminal I nearly captured in the past. He does illegal research in energy production..."

_Energy_

_ Black Soul Gems_

_ Killed._

_ Corruption_

_ Could it be? _L mused as the girls watched. Some of the other girls, however, were playing, trying to cheer up the boy from Thailand.

"He's so cute!" some of the girls squealed as they played with his hair. "Why did you bring a child along?" Saki asked disapprovingly.

"...he is the only survivor of a village destroyed by Demons."

With that, the girl's faces went into shock. "You... you can't mean... the village that we went to?"

"The very same." L muttered. "Or at least, I assume so." He got up. "The only problem is... where next?"

One of the girls – L was sure here name was Kazumi – spoke up. "I know! I know a place in Asurano City! It's Called Kafe lep! I'm sure Tachibaba-san would let us stay there for a short while!"

"Kafe Lep?" L asked.

"Yeah! It's Bucket 'O Parfait is famous!"

L perked. He had always wanted to try that. "Let's go."

"You... can't be serious." Homura tried to reason.

"I am always serious, Akemi-san."

XXXXX

And so, they were off. 10 girls, one boy and one man crammed onto an ice cream truck. Even to L, who was used to rough conditions, it was a little cramped. The twelve of them sat in the truck, with no one actually driving, as it rolled along Japan. L was currently forming a plan in his mind.

The boy needed to stay. They could drop him off anywhere and Blue ship could forget about him. But that would be bad. He would be all alone. He would be out of danger from Blue Ship, but being in a strange land would kill him. So he had to stay. Even as he thought out everything, L filled in paperwork. Specifically, an adoption form for Wammy's House.

He had other worries too. Chitose. She couldn't possibly go to Wammy's House. But then where would she go?

And there was also the deep question of what Blue Ship had done to Chitose's friend, and what they were planning.

_Could it be? _He looked up at Homura. Both of them had the same worries. Both knew that they were considering the same possibility. But they didn't dare voice them out loud. Especially since it was supposed to be impossible. Especially since the mere fact the possibility was correct would bring about the end of everything they had worked for.

They were headed to Asurano City. Towards Kafe Lep, apparently. They had a plan. Once they were there, they would split up. One half would stay at Kafe Lep with Tachibana Souichirou. The other half would stay at some teddy bear museum that one of the girls owned. L did not dare question how one could have a museum on teddy bears. It was decided Chitose would go with Kyouko and half of the Saints Pleidas to the Teddy bear museum. The boy would stay with L and Homura at the cafe.

L muttered as he looked at the girls.

"He's so cute!" the less serious members of the Saints Pleidas squealed over the boy, who was looking nervous, but for the first time since they met L noticed that some of the depression in his eyes had dimmed. Just a little bit.

He thought as their journey continued. Several days of journeying through cities and forest. His truck was especially designed, and as such hardly needed to be refuelled.

XXXXX

15 Days Left

Despite the advanced state of L's Ice Cream truck, L was forced to deal with situations he had not considered. Despite being mahou shoujo, among the girls only Homura seemed capable of functioning without food or sleep. For such reasons, he had been forced to regularly stop at restaurants, hotels and snack bars throughout the journey.

They were in one such detour, walking through a crowded marketplace. People had always wondered whether he was the father of all those girls. He had to correct them all. He told them he was the father of the boy while the girls were all his friends.

That spurred out a lot of jealousy. Especially among the younger boys who were mature in all the wrong aspects.

L sighed as they were in the marketplace. The girls were still eating. L, Homura and the boy were the only ones who had finished their meal. It wasn't so hard, considering L's meal consisted of a single piece of cake, Homura didn't even bother to eat and the boy was still too depressed to eat.

He looked at a certain transmitter on sale, apparently for use for radio repairs. Taking an interest in the product, he looked over to his right, where a strange shaking sound could be heard. To his amusement, he found the boy smiling, watching a toy robot with amusement. L mused.

"What do you think?" Homura asked the blue haired detective.

"...I think that it's best to take this cautiously." he muttered as the voice of the Saints Pleidas, as well as Kyouko and Chitose, could be heard approaching.

"And Tomoe Mami?"

"...deliberating." L concluded.

XXXXX

14 Days Left

"You found out WHAT!" Matoba roared at one of the subordinates.

"We... we found out that the Alice girl had accessed our archives... she... she read through..."

"Read through...?" Matoba almost hissed.

"...our... our pro-project-"

With a roar of rage, he kicked the man out of the room. Oriko sat there, watching with an amused expression.

"What are you going to do?" Matoba hissed at Oriko. "If she found out about everything, then it's over..."

"No worries. Why do you think I selected her so early?" Oriko smiled. "She probably didn't even have time to-"

she then stopped. "No. She did."

"What?" he seethed.

"She had time to tell someone." She looked up. "Yuma Chitose."

"...and she's with L... there's no telling WHAT could happen!" he yelled.

"Which is why we must capture them as soon as possible." Oriko told him. She stood up. "Kirika."

"Yes, Oriko?" the girl came into the room.

"We're going to continue hunting them down." she told her. "We need to capture them right away."

XXXXX

13 Days Left

It had been the strangest road trip L had ever been on -not that he had been on many-, but finally they had arrived at Kafe Lep.

Having dropped off half of the girls, L took a moment to look around him.

"You know," the shopkeeper known as Tachibana Souichiro said as he rubbed the back of his head, "I still have a hard time accepting the fact that girls are out there fighting monsters and demons." he told L as he placed his famous "bucket o' parfait" in front of the squealing girls.

"There are a lot of things in this world I find hard to accept," L replied.

"But the least we can do is to make it easier." Soichirou sighed. If he was a smoker, he would have lit a cigar by now, but he valued his lungs more than that. Soichirou leaned against the wall and L was sitting in his usual squatting posture on a high stool.

"I agree." L said . Just then, he coughed, covering it with his hand and turning around as to not attract any attention.

The shopkeeper looked at him, worry on his face. "You okay?" he whispered.

"I'm fine." L said. Then, he peeked at his hand.

_Damn._ He saw it. His hand was stained with crimson.

XXXXX

10 Days left

At the teddy bear museum, the girls were sitting around, worried for the other half. However, they tried their best to enjoy themselves. After all, they were girls in a teddy bear museum, filled with every cute large stuffed animal one could imagine.

"Oi Chitose," Kyouko said to the younger girl, "Don't go wandering off on your own. This place is huge."

"Okay!" She said with a smile. But as soon as she thought no one was looking, her smile dropped. _Alice..._

They killed her. Blue ship killed her, and now here she was running away from it all. It just wasn't fair to Alice.

That was why she decided. She wouldn't run. Not anymore.

Unbeknownst to her, Kyouko watched her, worry etched on her face.

XXXXX

8 Days Left

XXXXX

"Alright. Kyubey, Jyubey," L said as he stared at the two feline like creatures, "I have questions and I believe it is in both our interests for you to answer them as truthfully as possible." The two creatures did not reply.

"First off, about wishes." L said. "When a wish is made... is there any way to, say, cancel it out?"

"Of course." Kyubey said. "Wishes are basically acts of magic, after all. Any magic, given enough counteracting force, can be negated. In essence, wishes are simply acts of magic done by the magical girl's _belief_ that it is being granted, which in turn activates her magic via the subconscious mind, which makes it happen. For example, let's say that someone wishes for their arm to be healed from some manner of injury. That arm can be broken and fixed again in the blink of an eye through even the most mediocre magic."

"So... in reality, they really aren't getting anything in return other than magic." L summarized.

"Yes." Jyubey concluded. "As long as you have magic, anything is possible. As part of the energy collection division, I have always been against it but I still do it to ward off entropy."

L nodded. "Next question..."

XXXXX

Oriko sat in a comfortable chair. "My my," she said in her usual tone to the other side of the call, "What do we have here?"

The voice continued to speak. After a while, Oriko grinned. "Very well. Yuma Chitose, I accept. In four days time, am I correct? I can hardly wait."

With that, she closed the phone and turned to one of the puella magi serving Blue Ship. "I think this will turn out to be very interesting, don't you, Tomoe Mami?" The other girl could only glare at her.

What could she do? After all, they had their soul gems hostage. Oh yes, they allowed them to access it briefly, but that would never do, for at any moment they can choose to have it shattered.

XXXXX

4 Days Left

"It is apparent." L met privately with Homura. "Blue Ship... they are resurrecting grief seeds."

"But... why would they do such a thing?"

"For power. Obviously, only girls become puella magi. Matoba is purely an adult male, unless he is some sort of mutated transvestite."

"But, he's sacrificing his own people! It's not like the incubators where they see us as resources!"

"...you consider Kyubey to be different from Humans?"

"Well-I..." Just then, her mask of ice was shattered, reverting to the shy girl with twin pigtails who nervously introduced herself to a class in Mitakihara middle.

"Akemi Homura." L told her. "You know all about Kyubey. You know how the incubators work. You know all about the way he deceives, the way he would do anything for a girl to sell his soul to him. You remember. You yourself are a victim of that deceit and even now you bear the burden of fighting to protect."

Homura could not deny that fact. "But-"

"You continued to believe that the blame lay on both Kyubey and the tricked. You believed humans to be foolish, easily deceived, easily tricked. You believed that humans were incapable of such thought and only by seeing the truth like you did can they learn to think for themselves. But that is incorrect."

Homura did not attempt to speak. L had it exactly right.

The blue haired detective closed his eyes. "It is not that simple, Akemi-san." he whispered. "There are humans out there, people who are the same as the incubators, some perhaps even worse." he said. "There are those who openly lie, openly relish in the anguish of others, openly lust for control over another. There are those who would do anything for profit, such as what you see now. Matoba does not care; he considers the souls of a few dozen girls he had never met before insignificant compared to the billions of dollars he can receive for this... "discovery". There are humans just as manipulative as the incubators, right on our very own planet." he opened his eyes. "it is these kind of people who I have fought; these kind of people who I hunt and defeat as L. Over the course of my life, the creature known as Kyubey is only one of many beings who just don't simply care. In fact, Kyubey is even better than most I have encountered. Him, at the very least, never had a heart; he never had the capacity for compassion, trust and care. Those who I fight... they had all that, and they personally chose to throw away what most incubators would die for."

L stared deep into the recesses of Homura's eyes. "it appears that you still have much to learn about others, Akemi-san." he said as he finished his tea.

"I... I never knew... I always thought there was a difference between us and the incubators..."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "come in." L answered.

Kazumi from the Pleidas Saints stuck her head in. "Ryuzaki-san! It's terrible!" she said, panicked.

L and Homura immediately got up.

XXXXX

The Teddy Bear Museum

"I can't believe it..." Saki was in shock, as were the rest of the girls remaining. "We turned away for a moment, and the next thing we knew..."

"Oriko and Kyouko were gone." Homura finished for them. "Could Blue ship have-"

"That's not possible." the other girls said. "We would have detected them."

"Then there is only one explanation." L concluded. "She left of her own accord."

"Left! But why-"

"Her best friend was killed right in front of her eyes." The shopkeeper of Kafe Lep argued. "It's only natural she'd want revenge." The boy, meanwhile, saw a fallen book. He picked up a piece of paper and a pencil and got down to work, no one really paying attention to him.

"Then, why Sakura-san as well?" Saki asked.

"...probably to try and stop her. She has always been the type to act alone." Homura answered. There were a few moments of silence, when all of a sudden the boy spoke up.

"Eleven Thirteen! Eleven Thirteen!"

Everyone turned and stared at him quizzically.

"Eleven Thirteen! Eleven Thirteen!" the boy continued. L moved towards him and picked up a piece of paper he was holding. It contained a mathematical question involving a rectangle. "Where did you see this?"

"That... that was the book that Chitose-chan had." one of the girls said. "But... eleven thirteen?"

"Eleven Thirteen... according to the alphabet, 'K M'..." he turned to Homura.

Their fears had been confirmed.

"KM" could only stand for one thing, and both of them knew it. Blue Ship was after Kaname Madoka.

"So this is why they were desperate to capture her." L muttered. "Once she solved this, they were afraid someone might come along and find out its meaning." He dropped the book and immediately ran out the door, desperate to stop the two girls.

XXXXX

City Park, Asumaro City

Yuma Chitose was scared. It was dark, and she was alone. She had every reason to be scared

But she didn't let that stop her. Making sure she was alone, she yelled to the shadows. "Oriko-san! Come out! I'm here!"

Out of the shadows, Oriko came out. "Good evening, Chitose-chan." she said, her smile no longer gentle but scheming. "What was it that you wished to talk about?"

Chitose did not say anything. Taking out her soul gem, she transformed and brandished her weapon. "You killed Alice-chan! You killed my friend, and now you're trying to do the same again, so... so... I'll stop you!" she leapt at Oriko recklessly.

Suddenly, something grabbed her from behind and twisted her arm into a lock. Crying out in pain, she dropped her weapon. Kirika appeared, stopping Chitose from harming her master.

"Sorry," Oriko smirked, "but I broke my promise to come alone."

"Breaking promises to little kids?" A new voice interrupted. "That's kind of low of you." Suddenly, a strong blast knocked away Kirika from Chitose. The small girl turned to face her saviour. "Sa-Sakura-san!"

"Yo!" Kyouko greeted her, pocky stick in her mouth. "You've done it now, Chitose. Sneaking away like that, getting everyone all worried... you could have told us." she scolded.

"I'm sorry..." Yuma looked down.

Oriko laughed. "Do you really think you can stop me, Sakura-san?" In response, Kyouko scoffed. "You don't look tough at all. You don't even have any fighting abilities, do you?"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Sakura-san. Are you really willing to hurt your mentor?"

Kyouko froze. "what-"

The meaning of "mentor" was soon revealed. Out of the shadows, another Mahou Shoujo appeared. Kyouko could not help but gasp. "Ma-Mami san!"

The golden haired girl did not reply. Suddenly, Kyouko realized what was wrong. "Your hairpin! It's not..."

Oriko laughed. "Do you finally get it? Did you really think that so many mahou shoujo would so willingly come to our side? Not normally, but when you take their souls hostage, it makes for a very good bargaining chip."

"You bastard!" Kyouko leaped, but suddenly stopped when she realized Oriko had Mami's hairpin soul gem in her hand. "You understand, don't you? If you resist, then I may _accidentally_ crush this little ornament in my hand."

Kyouko growled in frustration and helplessness as various Mahou Shoujo surrounded her and Chitose.

XXXXX

A few minutes later

L ran as hard as he could through the city. He had Watari trace the outbound calls from the museum, and there was only one. Namely, a call from Chitose to Oriko, saying they would meet at the park.

When he finally arrived, he cursed as he panted.

There was no one there.

XXXXX

END OF PART 2

Author's note: one more part to go.


	3. The Terror long banished

Author's Note: Finally, the end... okay, I lied. We have an epilogue after this.

XXXXX

4 Days left.

The Teddy Bear Museum

"So... they got Chitose and Kyouko?"

"...I'm afraid so. This was all I could find." L replied, holding a half-eaten pocky stick. "This was probably Kyouko's. The fact its here probably means she's in their hands now."

"But... why would they take Chitose?" Tachibana asked.

"...I don't think its for information. I think they would have figured out she would have passed it on to all of us..." he looked up. "Oh, what a fool I've been."

Homura turned to him. "What?"

"Ask yourself: Why did they take Kyouko with them as well? Why did they not kill her? Everything was too unnatural since the beginning. They chased Chitose fiercely at first, but their attempts dwindled as time passed and it became too unnatural for her to not to have told someone. We were all caught up in thinking they were after Chitose to realize. They weren't after her. They were capturing as many Mahou Shoujo as possible."

"But what for?" Kazumi asked. L stopped. There could only be one reason. He turned to Homura.

She nodded.

L sighed. "Kyubey, Jyubey, please leave. There is something I need to discuss privately."

As the two left, L turned. "You see, Akemi-san and I... we have experienced an alternate timeline."

"A... what?" L could see the confusion in the rest of the girls. He continued nonetheless. "Where Akemi-san and I originally come from, Mahou Shoujo don't battle demons. Instead, they battle creatures known as witches. What they did not know, however, was that witches are born from Mahou Shoujo who use up all of their magical power. Mahou Shoujo back then did not disappear in a pink light. They drown in a sea of despair."

There were a few gasps as L told them. "When a mahou shoujo becomes a witch, a vast amount of energy was released. Instead of grief cubes, it was this vast energy that the Incubators harvested. It only changed because of one particularly powerful Mahou Shoujo. The identity of "KM"... Kaname Madoka, who was powerful enough to change the laws of the universe. I have reason to believe that Oriko is attempting to return the universe back into it's old system with the help of Matoba and Blue Ship, and that... I cannot allow." He turned to the Pleidas Saints. "That is why... one more time, I fight. Will you help me?"

There were a few moments of silence, then, slowly but surely, they nodded.

XXXXX

3 Days Left

Highways of Japan

Early Morning

"Are you sure?" Homura said to L as she, L and the Pleidas Saints were in L's advanced Ice Cream truck again. "Oriko will attempt to flee the country?"

"Yes." L said. "Remember that Matoba is with her, and his ultimate goal is easy: Money." L muttered. "I have a feeling that Oriko-san is doing this for a completely different reason, but I believe that she will indulge him in thinking that he is in control here."

"But how do we know where he will go?" Saki asked.

"That is easy." L told her. "As I said, Matoba is interested only in money. Those with greed will almost always head for the richest country. Therefore, his destination is most likely America."

"But how will they smuggle all that equipment in?" Homura insisted.

"They only need one." L replied. "One Mahou Shoujo. If they board as a patient and her group of doctors, then they can board with minimum security. Unfortunately for us, Matoba has a doctor's license." he grimaced.

"...Ryuzaki-san." Saki of the Pleidas Saints asked. "I have one more question. Our soul gems are our source of magic and... our source of consciousness. However, how does Blue Ship keep them chained?"

L closed his eyes. There was only one answer. "One hundred Meter Radius." he answered. "Mahou Shoujo can control their bodies as long as they are within one hundred meters of their soul gem". He turned to Homura. "Akemi-san, do you remember the first time Blue Ship attacked us?"

"Yes." she nodded. "They came in four vans. No doubt the soul gems were packed in there."

"And the day we met..." Kazumi continued. "They didn't run away because we came; they ran away because they were almost out of range?"

"That is correct." L nodded. With that, the trip fell into silence.

The road went on.

XXXXX

Mitakihara International Airport

Flight MS01 to America

11 am

Matoba grinned as he, Oriko and Chitose, unconscious on a stretcher, boarded the plane. It was easy. No one had suspected that they would hide material in the stretcher of an injured child. His doctor's license had come in handy as well. All around him, various mahou shoujo, at least twenty of them, sat, all spread out over the plane.

Kyouko sat, disgruntled alone. Around her, she could see various mahou shoujo, all frightened. Not to mention, that Oriko did something. The Miasma was much too thick in the plane. Their soul gems were in danger. However, it wasn't as if they could do anything about it. She glared as Matoba and Oriko came in, carrying Chitose on a stretcher. She was a bit happy to see that Oriko was feeling the strain too, but she hid it well.

"Excuse me," a shockingly familiar voice said beside her, "is the seat next to you open?"

Kyouko looked up to see Tomoe Mami. "...yes."

As the older girl sat down, Kyouko saw that she was trembling. It was understandable. She had been forced to follow Blue Ship for much longer than she had. It was disgusting. The moment she was captured, her soul gem had been forcefully taken and placed in a case. She couldn't even touch it; only being near enough to transform but not enough to retrieve it. Kirika carried the gems into the plane itself, then returned them to Oriko so that she could use them as a hostage again. But she had to do something. What would Ryuzaki-sensei do in this situation?

_Be patient._ She grinned at the thought. She turned to her trembling senior. "Don't worry, Mami." she assured. "Everything will be fine."

XXXXX

Streets of Mitakihara

11 am

Everything began and ended in Mitakihara. L nearly laughed at the symbolism. He went over the plan with the girls one more time as he drove. After agreeing it was all good, he turned off from the highway leading into the airport terminal and drove onto the runway, startling security men and sending sirens going off.

"L," Homura said staring out the window, "That one." she pointed to a plane. "I sense heavy miasma from there." L nodded, turning the steering wheel.

It was time.

XXXXX

Flight MS01

_Who would have thought that the miasma would be this damaging..._ Oriko shook her head. _But it's necessary. After all, this concentration is enough to blanket the world... _She turned to Matoba. _That man has no idea I'm just using him. He thinks we're going to get off of this plane alive. Well, we're not._

Suddenly, the speakers came on. "Passengers, this is your captain speaking. Our takeoff has been delayed due to an unidentified vehicle on the runway-"

Oriko was jolted out of her reverie. Immediately, she looked outside her window.

To her utmost shock, it was the Ice cream truck that "L" person used. She turned to Matoba. "It's him." she said, and Matoba's face went into a panic as well. "Gather everyone here." she ordered. Instantly, all of the mahou shoujo in the plane shot up and headed towards the fake stretcher, where Oriko had already torn off all the medical equipment and opened the false bottom, revealing a case of strapped soul gems, visors and two bombs. Immediately, the mahou shoujo, including Kyouko and Mami, took a visor and connected to their magical energy through a thin layer on the case and transformed.

"Remember," Oriko's voice carried through to each mahou shoujo through a headset in their visors, "We have your soul gems. If you choose to disobey us, we will destroy them immediately."

When the girls appeared, all holding their respective weapons and wearing visors like the one Kirika had, they stepped out, causing the passengers to scream.

"Don't cause a ruckus!" one of the mahou shoujo yelled. "This is a Hijacking!" However, Kyouko could feel the nervousness in her voice. Another Blue Ship member, one who knew how to fly a plane, went to the cockpit and knocked the pilot and the co-pilot unconscious and started moving the aircraft.

In the ice cream truck, the girls gasped. "It's moving!"

"I suspected as much." L muttered. "That's a good thing. She's rushing things. Throw the opponent off of their plan." He pushed the car to its limit as he drove side by side with the taxing plane. As he did, the Pleidas Saints, as well as Homura, transformed and leapt onto the plane. L, meanwhile, leaned out the window and seeing as he didn't have any magical powers, he ran up the nearest staircase – which fell over just as he managed to get a grip on the plane, hanging for life.

"Hold on." Homura said, offering her hand, which he took, dragging himself back on his feet.

"Well well," a voice said, "Look who decided to hop onto the plane. Close the pressure doors." she instructed to two of her Mahou Shoujo followers.

L, slouched as usual, came face to face with Oriko and about ten visor wearing Mahou Shoujo, Kirika among them.

"Ryuzaki-san," One of the Pleidas Saints whispered into his ear, "This is bad. The heavy miasma here is affecting everyone. Our soul gems are consuming too much energy just to keep working." L looked around. Every Mahou shoujo, whether it be ally or foe, seemed to be struggling, as if being worn out from nothing. Even Oriko.

"Well well well," Matoba came towards L, his ever present sneer on his face. "You were much too late. We will now head to America, and I will sell the incubator technology as planned. You will not stop me then."

"...Matoba-san," L countered, "Do you honestly believe that Oriko plans to work together with you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Matoba hissed.

"I am saying that Oriko does not intend for you to grow rich on this... technology." L countered. "She plans for all of us to die on board this plane."

"Lies!" Matoba spat. "You attempt to break the trust between Oriko and I!"

"Oriko-san," L said, now talking to her, "What did you replace the gas tanks in this plane with? Miasma?"

"That is correct, 'L'." Oriko smiled through the strain. "How did you know?"

"Your father is an influential politician." L replied. "What's more, he's the minister of transportation. Arranging something like this is no small feat. All this amount of Miasma... You gained it from the massacre in Thailand, no? I suspect you had other such incidents around the world as well."

"The massacre was to test the existence of magic-" Matoba snapped, but Oriko cut him off.

"Very good." Oriko smiled. "But you are too late. This plane will fly. The heavy miasma will prevent outside magical disturbance. All of us," she faced the Pleidas Saints as well as Homura, "All of us will be corrupted and become witches. Kaname Madoka will be helpless to save us."

"Why..." Homura's tone was cold. "Why would you destroy what she has given up everything for?"

"...I saw it." she faced L. "...entropy."

L only stared back. The memory from an ocean of consciousness returned to him.

_" Everything is for the sake of extending the universe's life." Light said, his evil grin still present. "L, have you ever heard of the term "entropy?"_

_ "…the heat death of the universe." L said carefully. "The scientific theory that the universe gradually diminishes in energy as it expands."_

"It was two years ago. My best friend, Kirika Kure, became a mahou shoujo. She was so scared, she didn't know what to do, where to go from there. That creature known as Kyubey disappeared, leaving her alone. I helped her through those times. I helped her adjust. However, there was one thing she could not know, one thing that only another could find out.

So I did it. I wished to know what came next. It was a horrible sight, L." she said, justifying her actions. "Galaxies upon Galaxies falling; entire systems in which we are simply grains of sand collapsed upon one another. We were all consumed in the wave of destruction. In the end, there was nothing left.

It was only logical to figure out what happened. Grief cubes come from demons, which are concentrations of negative human energy. However, our own negative energy could not be harvested. The only possible answer was thus: a powerful mahou shoujo wished for it to be.

It was a stroke of luck when I met a young boy at a preschool where my father had a publicity stunt on behalf of his political party." she grinned, and suddenly L realized. "Kaname... Tatsuya."

"That's right." Oriko grinned. "That boy played with an imaginary friend named Kaname Madoka. It all came to me. She must have been the one to make the wish... for her to disappear and still leave traces in certain people... surely she must have been the one to have the power. But now it is too late. This plane will fly, miasma will fill the atmosphere and we will become the first witches again. We will aid the incubators in their quest to save the universe, even at the expense of our own humanity." By now, the mahou shoujo were gasping; the miasma was too much. However, by now each passenger was unconscious; magic had been used on them. L and Matoba were the only ones left standing; two men who had wandered into a world they never should have entered.

"Y-y-y-you..." Matoba gasped at Oriko. "YOU SCREWED AROUND WITH ME! HOW DARE YOU!" He grabbed her by the scuff. "WE HAD A DEAL! THERE WAS A BUYER WILLING TO PAY ONE HUNDERED MILLION DOLLARS FOR THIS!"

"You were foolish." Oriko spat at him. Matoba was about to hit her, but then suddenly a hand grabbed him from behind.

"Don't..." the struggling voice of Kirika Kure struggled to form words. "Don't hurt Oriko!" With a blast of Magic, Matoba was flung away screaming.

"Oriko-san..." L said one last thing. "I must ask you this... do you know why Kaname Madoka wished to stop the existence of witches?"

And with that Oriko fell silent. Suddenly, they were much more aware of the sounds around them.

"It... it hurts..."

"Help... me..."

"Not like this... not... like..."

The cries of the various Mahou Shoujo.

"Ryuzaki," Homura grasped his shoulder; even she was nearly at her limit. "We need to hurry."

"Kirika? Kirika!" Oriko was suddenly panicking. The struggling black themed mahou shoujo was on the ground, her soul gem almost pitch black.

"Oriko..." Kirika's visor was off and she seemed to be smiling, "If... if it's for you, I don't mind becoming a monster..."

And with that, her soul gem burst, forming a grief seed.

A witch came out. An almost doll like, rounded creature formed, struggling to stand. Matoba recoiled in horror as the witch advanced on him.

"N-no..." Oriko gasped, staring at the creature that used to be her friend. "Ki-Kirika! Kirika!" She turned to L. "Please! What happened to her!"

"...this is what you wanted." he said, stopping her dead in her tracks. "She has become a witch, just as you wanted everyone to."

With that, Oriko collapsed, hands on the ground. "I...I just... I just wanted to..."

There were more pressing matters. "Akemi-san!" he yelled. "Pass me a handgun!" quickly, Homura drew one from her shield and handed it to the blue haired detective. "You're not thinking of fighting that thing, are you?"

"No, I have a more foolproof method of getting us out of this." L replied. He had three priorities.

Stop the Miasma.

Stop the witch.

Stop the plane.

First things first. He dashed around the plane, opening compartments and avoiding the witch, desperate to find were the "oxygen" tanks were located. Thankfully, he found it. Seeing it was locked, he shot the lock with the pistol, then smashed it open. He quickly shut off the valves, ensuring no Miasma would leak. He then ran to the emergency exits and opened them.

There was a bang, and instantly air rushed into the plane. Since the plane was in motion, the miasma filed out and oxygen filed in, allowing the girls to breathe a bit easier. However, that wouldn't undo a lot of harmful damage done to their soul gems.

Suddenly, as the miasma disappeared, there was a pink light. A pink arrow fell as if from the heavens and struck the witch that Kirika became, shredding away the witch's body and revealed Kirika once more. She gave Oriko a sad smile before she disappeared in pink light.

"Kirika..." Orika only gasped in amazement. The pink light, however, did not disappear. L knew what he had to do. Rushing to the cockpit, he found the mahou shoujo unconscious, her soul gem still there. Getting in the copilot seat, he switched gears and slammed on the breaks, hoping to stop the plane from hitting where it would have ended up. Namely, the airport terminal. He gave himself a weird smile. In the past, he had done this before and his success was guaranteed due to a contract with a grim reaper. This time, he had nothing.

The plane screeched. People ran in fright from the terminal building.

The plane collided. With a light bump. It only made a small crack in the glass.

Sighing in relief, L sat back on his chair, letting go of the controls. He took a few moments to calm down before getting up and walking back to the main cabin where Oriko lay. He knew she didn't have much longer.

Breathing deeper and deeper, Oriko looked at her dark soul gem. "L... what I tried to do... I..."

"Don't worry about that, Oriko-san." L told her. "You were only doing what you thought was best."

The pink light moved closer to Oriko. L looked up towards the pink light and thought he saw a goddess. In a sense, he did.

"Kaname-san..."

"Oriko-chan," Madoka's gentle voice carried over to L and Homura as well, "You've worked hard. You tried your best to do what you thought was right. Don't worry, everything will be fine now."

"Thank... you..." Oriko gave a small tear of joy before she disappeared in a pink light. The light, however, stayed and overwhelmed Light and Homura.

XXXXX

A Space Transcending Understanding

"Homura-chan! Ryuzaki-sensei! It's been a while." Madoka smiled, and L couldn't help but smile at how she had never changed. "It's been so long since I've gone, but you two still work so hard... so does Kyouko-chan... Mami-san..."

"You've worked hard too, Madoka." Homura said before the two girls embraced.

"Thank you, Homura-chan." Madoka smiled before putting on a serious face. "Ryuzaki-sensei... When we last saw you..."

L felt a twang of guilt. Releasing Elsa Maria in the classroom. Killing Kyousuke. Turning Sayaka into a witch.

"I can't say I forgive you, but... thank you." Madoka said. "One more thing..." Madoka gave L a shining object.

"What is this, Kaname-san?" L said as he examined the object. The light subsided and it turned out to be an elegant teaspoon with a jewel on top which shone much like a mahou shoujo's soul gem.

"Please, keep that with you." Madoka said. L nodded. "I will consider that my last challenge: to find the identity of this mysterious object." he said. Madoka smiled. "Okay! Until we all meet again..."

XXXXX

Flight MS-01

L and Homura woke with a start. Around them, the Pleidas Saints were staring, worried but relieved when they opened their eyes. "You scared me!" Kazumi pouted.

"Sorry..." L muttered. Suddenly, there was a yell. "Heyyy! Ryuzaki-sensei!" L turned to see Kyouko, Chitose and Mami all coming, as well as the crowd of saved Mahou Shoujo. "I knew you'd come through for us. Can you help us open this lock? We can't open it." Kyouko said, handing L the case with the soul gems inside. The girls examined it, staring at the bomb that would probably never be used now.

"Mo-Monsters!"

Everyone turned. There was a ruined Matoba, his clothes in tatters and his eyes in terror. "Monsters! Every one of you!" he pointed to the Mahou Shoujo. "You can all become a monster like that... no! I'll stop you all! Right now!" he reached in his coat and pulled out what appeared to be a switch.

L suddenly realized why there was a bomb planted inside the case. However, the pleidas saints didn't falter. Four of them immediately threw the bomb in the air, and the remaining three took a triangle position around the bomb.

_Bibbity Bobbity Boo... _Kazumi Concentrated. _Don't let the bomb explode._ Then, the three kicked the bomb away, where it landed harmlessly. Matoba fainted as L just went over and began picking the lock and gave everyone their soul gems back.

It was over. The Second Mitakihara Case was over.

XXXXX

Mitakihara International Airport

"So, the police are going to get all the girls back home? Aren't they going to arrest them for hijacking or something?" The owner of Kafe Lep asked. He brought the boy as well as the two incubators (although he couldn't see them, Souichirou made sure they were locked up in a cat cage).

"No." L said, to the relief of the mahou shoujo. "I'm a personal friend of the head of the Japanese Police force. I explained... an altered version of what happened. He is an honourable man."

Yes, L mused, Yagami Light was a honourable man. It was amazing what a single death note could do. Or a single lack thereof.

"And what will happen to him?" Mami asked, eyeing Matoba, who was being dragged away by the police.

"...I'm sorry, but what happened these past few weeks will never see the light of law." L said. "He will not be punished for what he had done to all of you." The Mahou Shoujo looked downcast at this news. 'However, I have enough evidence gathered on him to ensure he will stay in prison for 1923 years. Good luck getting out, Matoba-san." he said, a small smile. Everyone gave a sigh of relief as blue ship's plans came to an end.

XXXXX

2 Days Left  
>England<p>

Wammy's House Orphanage

L smiled at the site of his old home. On the lawn around the building, children were playing, laughing, getting along... all the things that a young boy should have. As the group walked up to the gates, Watari came forward to greet the newest resident.

"Welcome to your new home." Watari gave the boy a kind smile. The boy gave L and the girls a sad look. Feeling like he needed to say something, he turned to Watari. "May I name him?"

"Of course." the elderly man smiled. L bent down and faced the boy eye to eye. "I think Near... is a good name for you. Because no matter how lonely you may be, someone will always be near you to support you." The girls smiled, not thinking L was on to say such things before. "Near," the Pleidas Saints gathered around him, "This is from all of us." they said, handing him a bag. The boy reached into a bag and a smile broke out when he discovered it was the toy robot he had played with back in the shopping district.

"Please don't forget us." Kazumi said. With that, Near, after losing his family, finally found a home again.

XXXXX

Asumaro City

"Well, I suppose this is goodbye." Kyouko, Mami, Homura, Chitose and L nodded goodbye to the Pleidas Saints.

"Thank you for everything." Saki said. "It was a very exciting adventure we had together. We will never forget any of you, and I hope we will get to work together again in the future."

"Thank you, and we will not forget you either. Let's all eat Bucket O' Parfait together again." With that, the Pleidas Saints returned to protecting Asumaro City.

XXXXX

Mitakihara City

"Well," L said as they sat in his apartment, "What do you all plan to do?"

"I certainly have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on." Mami admitted. Kyouko scoffed. "Come on, cut yourself some slack. You've been kidnapped. You deserve a rest."

"No rest for us, Kyouko." Homura replied. "We are Mahou shoujo. We are always needed somewhere."

"Fine..." Kyouko sighed. She turned to Chitose. "Are you sure you want to come with me?"

"Mhm." Chitose nodded. "I want to see the world! I want to go with you! Can I? Please?"

Kyouko grinned. "Of course. So that takes care of that." she told the rest. "I'll take care of Chitose."

L nodded. "Good luck." he whispered. "All of you."

XXXXX

May 1st

Mitakihara City

"...it has been technically a year now." L said as he and Homura stood on the very spot where Madoka made her wish.

"Sometimes, I still wonder if she made the right choice." Homura admitted. "However, when I saw her happy a few days ago, I became certain she did." Homura sighed in admittance. "She always did her best to help other people."

"...Everyone has come a long way." L commented. Suddenly, he heard a sound.

_Meow_

A cat. A grey cat.

Surprised, both L and Homura turned. "A-amy?" Homura gasped. The cat meowed again. Homura ran up to hug the cat. There was a few moments of silence, then there were tears of joy.

Now, no one was alone.

XXXXX

Five Years Later

L sat in front of his laptop in his apartment. It was another working day. Grabbing a cup of coffee, he stirred the contents with the teaspoon given to him by a goddess. Satisfied that the sugar had dissolved, he held the cup to his lips, but then stopped.

Something was wrong. His chest wasn't feeling right. It then hit him.

The time had come.

Returning the cup, he reached for something and pressed a button. With all his remaining strength, he managed to send the files.

Then, as his chest exploded in pain, he collapsed.

XXXXX

End of Part 3


	4. Epilogue: A Peaceful Slumber

Author's note: Not with a bang, but with a whimper...

For those who stuck with me to the end, thank you all.

XXXXX

Mitakihara Hospital

They say that, over five years ago, a violinist who's hand miraculously recovered resided in this very hospital room. Not that such a fact was any comfort to L, who was forced to lie and was unable to continue his work.

The most painful part, however, was how the doctors refused to allow him to take sugar. He craved for a cup of coffee or a piece of cake, but the doctors were adamant.

"Is there... no hope?" Homura asked. L simply shook his head.

"It's not surprising." Kyubey swished his tail. "Even for a human riddled with weaknesses, your body was extremely fragile. You have all sorts of human diseases. The insomnia. The torturous schedule you have and your neglect of basic human needs. That horrible posture. Your Alzheimer disease and the mountainous amount of sugar you used to combat it, not to mention the horrible malnutrition that it lead to. Frankly, it's a miracle you managed to live this long."

L sighed. "Akemi-san, it has been so long... How is everyone doing?"

Homura shook her head. "The Pleidas Saints are gone. Kyouko is gone. Mami is gone." She took out her soul gem, which was almost pitch black. "I'm probably soon to follow."

L nodded. "What about Chitose?"

"...She's fine. She will last a lot longer. Kyouko has been taking good care of her until the very end."

L sighed. "I see." he closed his eyes. "It's strange. I've experienced this many times. I have died as many times as you have seen Kaname-san die. However, this time is different. I feel... I feel like it's the end of a long journey... the closing point of infinity." The heart monitor began to beep irrationally, causing L to realize his time was at hand. He glanced at the one thing he brought with him to the hospital; the teaspoon given to him by Madoka. "Kaname... san... the last challenge... I... I win."

And with that, Homura and L disappeared.

XXXXX

The sounds of laughter filled the space. Children played peacefully on the lawn of Wammy's House. In the centre of it all, L and Madoka sat.

"So... it's come to an end." L then corrected himself. "No, I suppose it's only the beginning of everything."

Madoka nodded. "The future that we've all worked hard for... Ryuzaki-sensei, do you think it will be fine?"

"Absolutely." he nodded. "The future is not an image we aim for. The future is something that constantly changes; there is no end point. Each generation will work hard to provide an even brighter future. The future has no ideal image. The future is infinite; ever growing. Just as we have made their future brighter, they will strive to make the future brighter for those who have yet to come as well." He glanced at a window to the orphanage, which showed Near, who had apparently successfully transitioned into his role as L. His hair was now white – L hoped it was dyed- and despite his sharp mind, he still had toys around him. L recognized his most treasured one, the robot everyone gave him. "Chitose," Near said into the mike, "according to my theory, the demons should spawn at this building at 11 pm. Can you take care of them?" L could not hear the reply, but he had a feeling he knew what it was. Near and Chitose working together. That was unexpected, but he supposed it worked.

There was one other thing he had to ask Madoka thought. "Kaname-san... I must ask, why did you give me a soul gem without asking me for permission?"

Madoka looked down. "I... I thought it wasn't fair."

L stopped. "You mean... the last rule of the Death Note?"

_When a human dies, the place he will go is nothingness._

"It wasn't fair... you did so much to make this paradise possible, yet you were going to disappear... It just... it was just so hard to accept... so I..."

L glanced at his teaspoon. The jewel shone ever so brightly. "I never let it leave me. Even as my heart failed, I kept it with me."

Madoka smiled. "Thank you for taking good care of it."

"There is just one thing I don't get, though." L shook his head. "It had haunted me for five years. Oriko did so much to try and make witches a reality again, yet when her friend transformed into one, she was so traumatized... just as she finally achieved her goal."

The pink goddess gave a small laugh. "I suppose that part of you will never change, Ryuzaki-sensei. Oriko... that child tried her best to do what she believed was right. She thought that it was for the best and kept that belief, but she never saw just what witches were..."

"...all they ever found in there was a single grief seed that didn't hatch." L realized. "She never knew what sort of monster that a witch would be... seeing such an abomination... she must have realized just what she created."

Madoka only smiled. "Well," she sighed. "I'm afraid time is of the essence."

"I suppose as well." L sighed. "Well, I always wondered what after life would be like." he muttered.

It had been a long road.

It had originally been a single question of a series of kidnappings.

It then escalated into magic.

In order to clear a way to break the cycle of despair, he sentenced himself to over a thousand deaths.

Finally, at the end of that, he had finally finished it.

A brighter future.

XXXXX

Near kept his face impassive. The day had come. His teacher had died. From the jungles of Thailand to the streets of Japan, he had come a long way. Now, he found out why.

Staring at the screen, he read the files L had written. How he had originally picked up a few strange kidnapping cases and had gotten mixed up in magic. How he created the gambit of a thousand deaths. How he was fighting forces wishing to counter entropy.

He knew what L wanted him to do.

He would not let grief triumph again. However, he would not let Oriko's vision come to pass either.

He would surpass L. Not only would he stop the incubators, he would reverse entropy. He would do what L could not, or rather, ran out of time to do.

_Just watch, L. I will succeed. That is my promise to you. From student to teacher, I will take the future you have given me and make it even more brighter._

XXXXX

"I suppose Near would be fine." L nodded. "I left him enough clues. Given time, he will surpass even me."

"Don't you feel a little sad at that?" Madoka asked.

"Nonsense." L replied, using that single word. "I hate losing, but I'm not losing. I've won and left a record. He's simply going to beat that record, that's all." There was a moment of silence, then a bright light began to fill the peaceful orphanage. Voices could be heard from the other side.

"Heyyy! Ryuzaki-sensei!"

"Ryuzaki-sensei, it's good to see you again."

"I saw you at that hospital. Man, you must have been hungry."

"...come, L Lawliet. Thank you for your hard work."

L looked up to see everyone. Mami, as dignified and poised as ever. Sayaka, with her ever relaxed attitude. Kyouko, who, unsurprisingly, had food. Homura too, waiting with an impassive face but a smile in her eyes. He could also swear he saw Watari, with his grandfatherly like smile. The Pleidas saints were there too, all seven of them. Oriko, with a calm smile, and with her friend, Kirika Kure by her side, together forever at last.

Everyone was there. Everyone would wait for everyone else together.

For the first time since an eternity, the weight which curved his back was lifted. The bitter taste that required every bite to be coated with sugar disappeared. The bags under his eyes disappeared and he was finally relieved of his duty as the only one who could bear the weight of justice.

Closing his eyes, L headed to his final resting place.

XXXXX

_L Lawliet_

_Rest in a peaceful slumber_

XXXXX

The End.


End file.
